Carpet binder bar and replaceable cap



Sept. 28, 1965 H. J. HILL 3,208,095

CARPET BINDER BAR AND REPLACEABLE CAP Filed Aug. 11, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet1 III g2 g4 1/ r HERVE C]; H744,

INVENTOR.

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CARPET BINDER BAR AND REPLACEABLE CAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11,1961 14. 14- C 2, I PM K 2; )dl/ "Hj WHY; 3/

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INVENTOR.

BY #15 ArrORWegS United States Patent 3,208,095 CARPET BINDER BAR ANDREPLACEABLE CAP Harvey .l. Hill, Monterey Park, Calif., assignor toRoberts Consolidated Industries, Inc., a corporation of California FiledAug. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 130,837 6 Claims. (Cl. 16-16) This inventionrelates to a carpet binder bar adapted to be secured to a floor or othersupporting surface for receiving, retaining, and concealing the edge ofa carpet. It is an improvement on the carpet binder bar disclosed in mycopending application Serial No. 593,457, filed June 25, 1956, nowPatent No. 2,995,769.

Conventional carpet binder bars usually include a substantially flatbase provided with nail holes along its length to receive nails forsecuring the base to a floor, having upwardly extending prongs uponwhich a carpet edge can be impaled, and an upwardly extending flangealong one edge which, after the carpet edge is impaled on the prongs,can be bent downwardly to clamp, retain, and hide the raw carpet edge.

Such conventional carpet binder bars have a number of structural andfunctional deficiencies and disadvantages, and it is a primary object ofthis invention to remedy the same, as will appear hereinafter.

It is commonly necessary to secure such a binder bar to a concretefloor, and this is conventionally done with standard concrete nails.Such nails are preferably quite short in length, and it is verydiflicult for a workman to grasp the top of a short nail securely andstill permit him to start the nail into the concrete by hammering. It isan object of this invention to obviate this difficulty by filling, orpartially filling, the nail holes of a carpet binder bar with arelatively soft and tacky substance into which the point of a nail canbe inserted with the fingers of a hand to an initial nailing position inwhich the nail is retained by such substance, permitting the workman tostart and finish the nailing without gripping the nail with his fingers.

Conventional binder bars commonly have a downturned flange at the rearedge to engage the floor and space the base of the bar partially orwholly from the floor. Upon nailing such a bar to a floor the base ofthe bar is usually bent down in the center adjacent the nail holes sothat it is upwardly concave, which forms a slight ridge along the rearof the bar and creates a localized area of undesirable Wear on thecarpet thereabove. It is a further object of this invention to obviatesuch disadvantage by providing means for insuring that after nailing themajor portion of the base of the binder bar will be a substantiallyparallel to the floor, eliminating such localized wear area.

In the conventional binder bar, the carpet edge normally lays flat onthe base portion up to the inner face of the downwardly bendable flange,the latter having only a narrow width and overlying only a small amountof carpet edge with the result that upon being bent down the flange doesnot always adequately secure the carpet edge against displacement.Another object of this invention is to improve the holding effect of thebendable flange by forming the base portion of the binder bar, adjacentthe flange, so as to guide and retain a wider edge of carpet beneath abendable flange of given width.

Conventional binder bars normally have a bendable flange providing acarpet securing edge of small area, which will dig into and even cut thecarpet if the flange is hammered downwardly too vigorously by theworkman, as frequently occurs. Another object of this invention is toreduce the tendency of the edge of the flange to dig into and cut thecarpet by providing on the edge of the flange a relatively large contactarea for better gripping of the carpet.

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In such conventional binder bars the bendable flange usually bends alonga line adjacent to the floor, which tends to thrust the outer end of theflange toward the other side of the base portion of the bar, and this isundesirable. An object of this invention is to proportion the thicknessof the bendable flange and the adjacent part of the base portion of thebar so as to provide a bend line along the bendable flange which isspaced upwardly from the floor, to insure that the outer end of theflange will not thrust outwardly as it is bent downwardly. I prefer toaccomplish this by making such adjacent part of the base portion thickrelative to the adjacent portion of the bendable flange, to provide sucha bend line. This also has the advantage that a carpet stretcher can bebottomed against, and exert substantial pressure against, the binder baradjacent to said thickened portion of the base, for the purpose ofstretching and installing the carpet, if desired, without tending tobend or deform such base portion.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a carpet binderbar in which the bendable flange will bend naturally down and back withrelation to the carpet and base, tending to smooth out the carpetbetween the retaining prongs on the base and the inner Wall of theflange, thus minimizing bubbles or soft spots in the carpet adjacent tothe edge of the flange, which-are frequent and unsightly in the use ofconventional binder bars.

The conventional binder bar is commonly made of a metal, such as analuminum alloy or light steel, which contrasts sharply in color withthat of the carpet employed therewith, which is unsightly. Also, wheresuch conventional binder bar is made of an aluminum alloy it is commonlyanodized to a desired color, but such anodizing tends to wear oil in aspotty pattern during service, which is also very unsightly. Animportant object of this invention is to provide such a binder bar witha cap of a plastic or other suitable material which can be appliedreadily to the exterior of the bendable flange of the binder bar, tocover and hide the natural color of the binder bar. Such caps may bemade in a variety of colors to blend with that of the carpet employed ina par ticular carpet installation. Such a cap also hides unsightlyknife, hammer, and saw marks on the binder bar, which frequently occurduring or prior to its installation. Also, with the use of such a cap,short, and otherwise unusable, lengths of binder bar may be laidend-to-end and the unsightly joints covered by a continuous strip of thecap, which is very desirable.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a binder bar and capin which the cap readily may be attached and secured to the binder bar,without the use of adhesives or any special attachment means, after thebinder bar and carpet installation has been completed. I prefer toaccomplish this by providing suitable means on the bendable flange ofthe binder bar adapted to receive suitable mating means on the cap,simply by snapping the cap onto the binder bar flange.

A further object of the invention is to provide sucha cap with afeathered lower edge which will fair into the floor to exclude dirt andother foreign material from beneath the binder bar, to conform to slightunevennesses in the floor, to compensate for surface variations in thebinder bar itself, and to exert an upward pressureon the cap assistingthe application of it to the binder bar.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingspecification and the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a length of carpet binder bar asinstalled, partly cut away to illustrate the assembly.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view taken transversely throughthe binder bar of the invention, on a supporting surface.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a nail in position to bedriven.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the binder bar nailed tothe supporting surface and a carpet impaled thereon.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the movable flange bentdown to clamp the carpet edge.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but showing a cap partially attachedto the movable flange.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but showing the finishedinstallation.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a floor F having thereon aconventional carpet pad P, which in turn supports a conventional carpetC. Abutting the carpet pad P and supporting an dge of the carpet C is acarpet binder bar device 10, the details of which are best illustratedin the following figures. the carpet binder bar device 10 is relativelynarrow and may be made as long as desired.

Referring to FIG. 2, the carpet binder bar 10 has a generally flat basesection 11 having parallel longitudinal first and second edges 12 and13, the first edge 12 being slightly turned down to provide a supportfor the base section, and the second edge 13 being substantially turneddown to provide a second support for the base section. On the uppersurface of the base section 11 are provided upstanding prongs 14 whichare spaced apart both transversely and longitudinally of the basesection, preferably,

but not necessarily, being punched from the base section as illustratedin FIG. 1, and being adapted to secure a carpet such as C on the basesection.

The base section 11 is deformed between its edges 12 and 13 to providean upwardly opening, nail-receiving groove 16 and a downwardly dependingboss 17. Provided along the length of the nail groove 16 is a pluralityof spaced nail holes 18 which are substantially vertical and are filledwith a mastic substance 19, which may be beeswax or the like. It is tobe noted, however, that the nail holes 18 need not be completely filledwith the substance 19 as only suflicient of such substance need be inthe nail hole to readily receive and retain a nail.

The base section 11 is further deformed adjacent to the first edge 12 toprovide a carpet groove 21 which opens upwardly and which terminates ina sloping surface 22,

for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The surface '22 terminates atan upwardly extending clamping flange floor F in its desired positionand then a nail 29 is pressed by hand into a temporary position,generally as illustrated in FIG. 3, in which it partially or whollypierces the substance 19 in its nail hole 18, so as to be temporarilyretained in position for hammering by a carpet installation man ormechanic. The nails may then be hammered downwardly through theirrespective holes, without the necessity of any manual holding thereof,to their final position as illustrated in FIG. 4, so as to securelyfasten the binder bar 10 to the floor F. As shown in FIG. 2, the basesection 11 is initially transversely bowed upwardly so that the boss 17is spaced slightly from the floor F. However, as the nails 29 are driveninto the floor F to the final position shown in FIG. 4, they flatten outthe upper surface of the base section to make the major portion of theupper surface thereof substantially flat and parallel to the floor, theboss 17 limiting the downward movement of the central portion of thebase section to insure such resulting flatness. This is very de- Asindicated in FIG. 1,

reason to be explained hereinafter.

sirable, as it prevents the major portion of the base section fromdishing in around the nail holes and creating a cavity. Also, by spacingthe boss 17 upwardly from the plane of the floor or other surface onwhich the binder bar 10 is initially placed, the binder bar willaccommodate itself to unevennesses in the surface.

As is conventional, the carpet pad P is then laid up to and trimmedrelative to the carpet binder bar 10, and the carpet C is then laidacross the carpet pad and the carpet binder bar. The carpet C is thenusually stretched toward the binder bar 10 by the use of a conventionalcarpet stretcher (not shown), exerting a pull of up to 500 pounds ormore on the carpet to accomplish such stretching. When so stretched thecarpet is moved downwardly relative to the binder bar 10 to impale thecarpet on the prongs 14, as illustrated in FIG. 4, thus effectivelyretaining the carpet on the carpet bar at one location, following whichthe power stretcher may be moved down somewhat along the length of thebinder bar to stretch another area of carpet, which is then in turnimpaled on the prongs 14, the same procedure being pursued from one endto the other of the binder bar.

It is to be noted that between the sloping surface 22 and the first edge12 the base section 11 is thickened and at the juncture with theclamping flange 23 the latter is also somewhat thickened to provide atthe point or area 30 what in effect is an abutment of very rigid design.Just upwardly from the area 30 the flange 23 is relatively thin, toprovide a longitudinal bend line therealong the flange, about which theflange bends downwardly to prop erly retain the edge of the carpettherebeneath, which is an important feature of the invention. Also, suchthickened portions provide a substantially rigid abutment longitudinallyalong the line 30 against which a carpet stretcher can be bottomed if sodesired. Also, as will be noted from FIG. 5, the edge of the carpet Ctends to enter and conform to the carpet groove 21 and is directedupwardly by the sloping surface 22 toward the clamping flange 23. Thisalso is important, as it provides an additional area of carpet beneaththe clamping flange so that the latter may more effectively clamp theedge of the carpet as explained hereinafter.

In the final step in the installation, the clamping flange is hammeredor otherwise bent downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 4 to thatshown in FIG. 5 in which the upper edge portion thereof with its wideunder surface 27 effectively clamps the edge of the carpet between theflange and the base section 11. It is to be noted that the bending ofthe clamping flange 23 occurs about a longitudinal bend line or area 31which is located adjacent to the base section 11, but above the floorsurface, and this causes the edge portion 26 to move downwardly andoutwardly toward the first edge 12 to effectively clamp the carpetthereunder. It also moves the edge portion 26 further under the upperlip 25 for a The installation as shown in FIG. 5 could be consideredcomplete and ready for normal use, if so desired.

FIG. 6, however, shows a further refinement of the invention, in that acap member 33 is added. The cap member 33 is formed of a bendablematerial and is preferably formed of an elastomeric material such aspolyvinyl chloride, although any suitable material may be used. As shownin FIG. 6, the cap member 33 is preferably formed to provide a thincentral section 34 which is readily benable and thickened end sections35 and 36, the end section 35 being provided with a depending hookelement 37 and .a relatively thin flexible lip 8, the end section 36also being provided with a depending hook element 39. The cap member 33is preferably made with a relatively flat upper surface as illustratedin FIG. 6 and may be readily coiled for storage or shipment.

In installation, the hook element 39 is first preferably hooked underthe upper lip 25 of the clamping flange 23, following which the capmember is bent downwardly and toward the clamping flange and the hookelement 37 is snapped under the lower lip 24 of the flange, to the finalposition shown in FIG. 7. It is to be noted that before the hook element39 assumes its final position as shown in FIG. 7 the flexible lip 38engages the floor F, and, being resilient, resists further movement ofthe hook element 37 relative to the lower lip 24. A slight additionalmanual pressure, however, easily seats the hook element 37 relative tothe -lip 24, following which the flexible lip 38 tends to retain the capmember in position on the clamping flange. Also as will be noted in FIG.7, the outer surface of the flexible lip 38 fairs into the floor F topresent a sightly and finished appearance and to prevent dirt andforeign material from accumulating under the outer edge of the assembleddevice. Also as shown in FIG. 7, the cap member 33 substantially coversand hides all of the exposed clamping flange 23 of the binder bar 10 toprovide a finished and sightly installation. No adhesive is required toattach the cap member 33 to the clamping flange 23 and the cap membermay be readily removed, as desired, in the event that it is desired totake up, for cleaning or otherwise, the carpet C. The cap member 33 maybe readily installed or removed without special tools by any unskilledcarpet mechanic on the job without disturbing the carpet installation.The cap member also hides any scratches or other unsightly marks on theexterior of the clamping flange 23 which may have accumulated duringinstallation or prior thereto. With the use of such a cap member, theinstallation mechanic may utilize a number of short sections of thebinder bar 10, laid end-to-end, hiding the joints therebetween with thecap member. member, short sections of carpet binder bar less than thewidth of a doorway are normally useless and are thrown away, as aninstallation will not be satisfactory if it has exposed abuttingsections of binder bar with a joint between adjacent sections.

Although I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is tobe understood that I do not intend to be limited thereto but desire tobe afforded the full protection of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a carpet binder bar device, the combination of:

a longitudinally extending base section having first and seconddownturned parallel edges adapted to support the device on a supportingsurface,

said base section being deformed between said edges to provide anupwardly open longitudinal nail receiving groove parallel to said edgesand a depending boss extending below said base section,

said base section being transversely bowed upwardly between said edgesso that the bottom of said boss is spaced upwardly from the supportingsurface when the device is supported thereon by said edges,

said base section being deformable downwardly in response to drivingnails therethrough in securing said base section to the supportingsurface to a position in which the bottom of said boss engages thesupporting surface and a substantial portion of the upper surface of thebase section is substantially parallel to the supporting surface;

a plurality of upwardly directed carpetssecuring prongs on the uppersurface of said base section and pointed generally toward said firstedge; and

a longitudinally extending clamping flange fixed to said base sectionadjacent said first edge and extending upwardly from said base sectionand generally towards said second edge,

said clamping flange being transversely bowed and deformable downwardlyto secure the edge of a carpet between said flange and said basesection.

2. In a carpet binder bar device, the combination of:

Without such a cap a longitudinally extending base section having firstand second parallel edges,

the base section being deformed downwardly adjacent to said first edgeto provide an upwardly open longitudinal groove;

a plurality of prongs on and extending upwardly from said base sectionand upon which a carpet can be impaled; and

a clamping flange on said base section adjacent to said first edge andextending upwardly therefrom and generally toward said second edge,

said flange overhanging said groove and being deformable downwardlyrelative thereto to clamp the edge of a carpet in said groove andbetween said flange and said base section.

3. In a carpet binder ba-r device, the combination of:

a longitudinally extending base section having first and second paralleledges; and

a longitudinally extending clamping flange on said base section adjacentto said first edge and extending upwardly therefrom and generally towardsaid second edge,

said clamping flange having upper and lower edges and having an externallongitudinal bead adjacent to its lower edge and spaced upwardly fromsaid inner edge to provide a lower hook member, the upper edge of saidclamping flange being bifurcated to provide an external bead forming anupper hook member and an internal bead adapted to clamp the edge of acarpet When the clamping flange is bent downwardly.

4. In a carpet binder bar device, the combination of:

a longitudinally extending base section having first and second paralleledges;

a plurality of prongs on and extending upwardly from said base sectionand upon which .a carpet can be impaled;

a clamping flange on said base section adjacent said first edge andspaced upwardly therefrom and extending generally toward said secondedge,

said clamping flange having lower retaining means on the outside thereofand spaced upwardly a short distance from said first edge and havingupper retaining means on the outside thereof and spaced upwardly fromsaid lower retaining means; and

a thin flexible cap member adapted to substantially cover and conform tothe outside of said clamping flange and being secured thereto by saidlower and upper retaining means, with said cap member being provided atits lower end with a flexible lip adapted to engage a surface upon whicha device is disposed and to fair said cap member into said surface.

5. As an article of manufacture, a relatively long and narrow strip ofan elastomeric material, having a generally flat outer surface, having athickened portion at each edge defining hooked under edges and a thinnerportion intermediate the edges to provide a readily bendable area, andhaving a thin resilient lip at one edge extending beyond the adjacenthooked under edge, one surface of said lip being a smooth continuationof the outer surface of the strip.

6. In a carpet binder bar device, the combination of:

a longitudinally extending base section having first and second paralleledges;

a longitudinally extending clamping flange on said base section adjacentto said first edge and spaced upwardly therefrom and extending generallytoward said second edge,

said clamping flange having upper and lower edges and having an externallongitudinal bead adjacent its lower edge and spaced upwardly from saidfirst edge to provide a lower hook member, the upper edge of saidclamping flange being bifurcated to provide an external bead forming anupper hook member and an internal 2,514,335 7/ 50- Owens 16-16 beadadapted tov clamp the edge of a carpet 2,654,909 10/53 Paterson et a1.16-16 when the clamping flange is bent downwardly; 2,666,354 1/ 54v Dimet a1. 85-23 d 2,736,054 2/56 White 16-16 a thin flexible capvmemberadapted to substantially 5 2,787,035 4/57 Konefes 2074 cover and conformto the outside of said clamping 2,849,747 9/58 Karas 16-16 flange,2,976,537 3/61 Hart 24-36 X said cap member being made of an elastomericmaterial and provided at its opposite ends with FOREIGN PATENTSdownwardly directed hooks adapted to engage 1 Q22r028 5/59All'stirallarespectively with the lower hook member and 625,853 3/61ada-. the upper hook member of the clamping flange. 334,046 5/ 60 GreatBrltain- OTHER REFERENCES Captive-Screw Assemblies, Nov. 10, 1960.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 1,263,219 4/18Fischer 85-10 JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner. 1,724,601 8/29 Kelbgg2074 M. HENSON WOOD, JR., DONLEY J. STOCKING,

1,905,603 4/33 Place. 2,449,904 9/48 Lorraine. Examiners

6. IN A CARPET BINDER BAR DEVICE, THE COMBINATION OF: A LONGITUDINALLYEXTENDING BASE SECTION HAVING FIRST AND SECOND PARALLEL EDGES; ALONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CLAMPING FLANGE ON SAID BASE SECTION ADJACENTTO SAID FIRST EDGE AND SPACED UPWARDLY THEREFROM AND EXTENDING GENERALLYTOWARD SAID SECOND EDGE, SAID CLAMPING FLANGE HAVING UPPER AND LOWEREDGES AND HAVING AN EXTERNAL LONGITUDINAL BEAD ADJACENT ITS LOWER EDGEAND SPACED UPWARDLY FROM SAID FIRST EDGE TO PROVIDE A LOWER HOOK MEMBER,THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID CLAMPING FLANGE BEING BIFURCATED TO PROVIDE ANEXTERNAL BEAD FORMING AN UPPER HOOK MEMBER AND AN INTERNAL BEAD ADAPTEDTO CLAMP THE EDGE OF A CARPET WHEN THE CLAMPING FLANGE IS BENTDOWNWARDLY; AND A THIN FLEXIBLE CAP MEMBER ADAPTED TO SUBSTANTIALLYCOVER AND CONFORM TO THE OUTSIDE OF SAID CLAMPING FLANGE, SAID CAPMEMBER BEING MADE OF AN ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL AND PROVIDED AT ITSOPPOSITE ENDS WITH DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED HOOKS ADAPTED TO ENGAGERESPECTIVELY WITH THE LOWER HOOK MEMBER AND THE UPPER HOOK MEMBER OF THECLAMPING FLANGE.